battle scars and love
by CupcaketheBabybear
Summary: Marriage law fic.
1. Chapter 1: Hermione's POV

~Battle Scars and Love~

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that goes along with the world of Harry Potter. That privilege belongs to J.K. Rowling. I thank her for creating it. xD Anyhoo… Onward… Before that though no profit is being made from this story. Now we go onward with the story.

Chapter 1:

"Take it down."

I was in the library, fixing the curtains, when his voice stopped me.

"Sirius, -," he cut me off.

"Take the curtain down, please."

Ever since Harry and I had brought Sirius back from beyond the veil a week ago, he had been trying to get rid of all the curtains in the house. He seemed to have a fear of all drapery after that endeavor, but we couldn't really blame him. Harry and I would go through the house fixing the curtains and Sirius would follow us taking them down again.

Eventually, Harry gave up and took down most of the curtains. We were able to reason with Sirius enough to leave the shower curtain up. The curtains in my room were also safe seeing as it was my room. We, Harry and I, had also thought that the library curtains were safe as well because Sirius seemingly despised the library.

Even so I called for Harry to remove them, as I to short to reach, Harry had just returned home from work. While Harry did that, I left the room to go make dinner. On my way down to the kitchen I had stopped by my room to make sure the door was still locked. As I turned around I collided with a sulking Harry. I let out a small shriek.

"Harry James Potter! Good Merlin! You scared the bloody hell out of me."

"Sorry 'Mione. Sirius wanted to know if you were angry with him for wanting to protect us."

"Oh heavens no," I lied. Well, I didn't technically lie. I wasn't angry… just a tad resentful.

We walked to the kitchen in silence. I quickly made dinner knowing that Harry and Sirius would be hungry.

"Harry? Do you mind getting Sirius and telling him dinner is ready?" I asked, thinking Harry was still in the room. Receiving no answer I took supper off of the stove and went to retrieve the boys.

…

A/N: Well that was interesting…. I wonder where it will go next. Oh wait I already sorta know where I am taking this story.

Read And review and you will be my best friend! Maybe… Because I already have a lot of best friends…. You can be my best friend.!


	2. Chapter 2: Hermione's POV

~Battle Scars and Love~

Disclaimer: My friends have to keep reminding me that I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did. Which is a lot. Dx. No profit is being made. And where I may not own anything HP related I do own a few of the characters and this plot.

To clear a few things up I would just like to say that Harry and Hermione are 21 and Sirius is 31 because he aged backwards during his time in the veil. They rescued him by a series of things which you will find out about later. Sorry if it sucks.

Chapter 2:

Dinner was unusually somber. Sirius usually made a big deal out of asking how our days were. Harry worked as an Auror and I had worked as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries for the last 3 years. We went back to Hogwarts to continue our education after Harry defeated Voldemort. I now stay at home and Harry is Head Auror. We ate in what was practically a palpable silence.

"So 'Mia how was your day today?" Harry asked.

I shot a quick unperceivable glance at Sirius, and then turned my attention back to Harry. "It was…" I pause for a moment trying to find the right words. "It was uneventful," I finished. Honestly I spent half of my day crying in the library and then tried to make myself seem busy with the curtain when I heard Sirius walk towards the library.

Sirius nodded slightly. For a minute I thought he wanted to say something about it to me. Instead, he looked back at his glass as if it was an interesting game.

"Sirius how was your day?" Harry asked. I could tell how this silence was bothering him.

Sirius glanced at me for the barest of seconds before saying that his day was just as uneventful. I don't really think he really likes me nor does he know or care how I feel about him.

Sirius has always been kind to me. Even more so the last few weeks leading up to the veil incident and in this last week since we pulled him out. He seems as if he wants to say something to me when Harry is at work, but he doesn't. All day we sit in silence. Gin comes over a few times a week, but when she doesn't I turn on the wireless or the T.V. that Harry insisted we get when we moved into Sirius' old house. He seems as if he knows what goes on when I am alone, and he wants to comfort me. More than once I've seen him be concerned that I didn't come down to see Harry off, or that I'd come in with red, puffy eyes.

After that awkward attempt at conversation we ate the rest of dinner in silence. When we were all done, I started to clear the table but Harry took over and told me to sit.


	3. Chapter 3: Hermione's POV

~Battle Scars and Love~

Disclaimer: Alas! I am not J.K. Rowling, but I'm working on becoming like her. So she owns the characters but I own the plot. *grins evily* *just kidding* *im not evil* Umm…. Uh…. ONWARD!

Chapter 3: Hermione's P.O.V.

"Harry, I can get th-," I started.

"No Hermione, you need to sit down."

"Fine," I grumbled, but did as I was told.

He had the dishes start cleaning themselves and sat down next to me. Harry didn't say anything for a while but he did grab a hold of my hands. I looked away from him knowing what he was going to say.

"Mione," he chided softly. "You're doing it again."

My eyes snapped up to look into his emerald ones. "Doing what?"

"You are throwing yourself into your work and it's making you sick. This is what Kingsley meant when he fired you."

"I'm sorry Harry. But when I just sit and do nothing, my memories of Ron come back." The tears were now streaming freely down my face.

"Mione, nothing can change what happened. No matter how hard you try."

Great. Now Harry is crying too. Ron's death hit us both, pretty hard. Ron and I were engaged, and Harry and him were practically brothers. After he died, I threw myself into everything I did, trying to keep his memory from making me sad. The worst part is that I know Harry was right.

Next thing I knew, we were hugging. We sat hugging and crying for what felt like hours. It could have only been a few minutes at the most. Neither of us even noticed that Sirius had come back into the kitchen and was now leaning against the doorframe. I had wondered where he had gotten to. He stood there for a few minutes before clearing his throat.

"Um… Harry?" He asked rather awkwardly. "Could you please come here for a moment?"

Harry leaned back and looked at me. "I'll be right back, okay?" he murmured gently.

I nodded and he walked out the door with Sirius.

**Sirius's P.O.V.:**

(just after dinner)

I ambled out of the kitchen after dinner thinking Harry and Hermione were going to follow me out. I wandered into the living room and sat down on the couch. Where had those to gotten off to? I clenched my fist realizing that they were still alone together. I don't like that. I love Hermione rather dearly. Not that she knows that. I closed my eyes and tried to shake the thoughts away.

About ten minutes later I opend my eyes wondering where they were and what they were doing. I realized they were still probably in the kitchen cleaning up. Relaxing a bit more, I let my guard down. So when I heard an unusual voice coming from beside me, I jumped and had my wand out in seconds. I listened trying to figure out who it was.

"Psst. Sirius!"

"Kingsley?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes. Where's Harry? We need him to come in as soon as possible," he said hurriedly.

"I'll send him as soon as I can." And I hurried to go find him.

I walked the familiar route back to the kitchen. I walked in to find Harry and Hermione hugging and crying. I leaned against the doorframe and gave them a few more minutes before clearing my throat.

"Um… Harry?" I asked, suddenly feeling extremely awkward. "Could you come here for a moment?"

Suddenly, as I watched him lean back and murmur to her, I felt increasingly jealous that she would allow him that close. I turned around as she nodded and left the room closely followed by Harry.

"Sirius?" He asked. "Is everything alright?"

I took a calming breath, then whirled around to face my oblivious godson. "First off, is Hermione going to be okay?"

Harry looked at me questioningly, but nodded. "Yeah she will be. She's been working on getting over Ron's death for the past four years. Any thing else?"

"Yeah. Kingsley needs you to go in to the office. He said it was urgent."

"Okay. I'm going now. You go sit with Mione."

With that he apparated away, leaving me to deal with the crying 21 year old, who doesn't seem to like me very much. At least, I don't think she does. Anyway, she came running out of the kitchen at the same time as I was going back in. She looked at me and started crying again. Almost simultaneously, her arms were around my waist and her face was buried in my chest. It took me a minute to register what was happening. After a moment, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and led her to the living room. We sat there for about an hour with me trying to to calm her down again and telling her it would be okay.

_**A/N: Hmmmm This is getting interesting… If chu reads and reviews I will give chu 5 cookies for this chappy. Leave questions, comments, ideas/something you wanna see in this story in the REVIEW BOX. Thanks and if you don't have anything nice to say please refrain from saying it or make it sound constructive. **_


	4. Chapter 4: Hermione

~Battle Scars and Love~

Disclaimer: I ish not Ms. Rowling. No matter what my delusions may be. If I was her, Ron woulda died instead of Sirius.

Chapter 4: Hermione's P.O.V.

I sat in the kitchen calming myself, when I heard the familiar sound of disapparation. I ran out of the kitchen and directly into Sirius. I looked at him and started crying again. It hurt knowing we were able to bring him back, but that we could never bring Ronald back.

I couldn't help myself. I latched myself onto Sirius and sobbed into his chest. Slowly and carefully, he led me to the living room and we sat on the sofa. I was still latched tightly onto him. Besides his near constant murmurs of "Everything will be okay," "It will all work out in the end," and, "You will get through this," it was a while before either of us spoke again.

"Where'd Harry go?" I whispered brokenly.

"Kingsley flooed and asked that Harry was sent right away. Urgent business at the Ministry apparently, he replied hesitantly.

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. I do think he was a little hurt that I didn't ask anything about him so I added, "Thank you, Sirius, for everything you've done tonight."

"You're welcome, doll," was his response.

I snuggled deeper into his chest. As I did this, I felt him tense, then relax immensely. Apparently we both got pretty comfortable because we both fell asleep. The next thing I knew, we were all moving. Harry was home and I was being carried to my room by Sirius. They were whispering so I decided to pretend to still be asleep.

"Harry, we can tell her in the morning. Let's not wake her and worry her with this tonight."

"But Sirius, we have to tell her soon. It does involve her too, as you well know. The whole reason Kingsley needed me was to warn me about this."

"Harry just let her sleep peacefully for the night. You can tell her in the morning. That's final."

"Fine, I will."

"Thank you."

I felt my body gently hit my bed, and heard Harry stomp off muttering. All of a sudden I felt Sirius's lips brush my forehead for a brief second. Then I heard an almost inaudible whisper of "Sleep peacefully my love." Then I passed out again.

.PARTY BREAK..NOW BACK TO THE STORY.

I woke up at about 9:30. As I made my way down to the kitchen, I heard Harry and Sirius arguing inside. I paused in the hall debating on going in or waiting for one of them to come find me. Sighing I decided to go in. Before I moved though Harry spoke. He seemed to be begging Sirius to talk to someone. Me maybe?

"Sirius. Please. It has to be you. Just talk to her."

"Harry. Fine. I will talk to her about it. I really wish this could have been under different circumstances though." He paused then dropped his voice. "She's in the hall right now."

With that I stormed into the kitchen and they went silent. Slowly I walked over to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup. Then I prepared it just the way I like it, making sure my movements were agonizingly slow. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Harry growing very impatient. Suddenly, I felt extremely aware that they were both staring at me impatiently. Taking my time, I turned around and leaned against the counter.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at them. "Good morning you two," I said cautiously.

"Harry and I need to speak with you about something," Sirius said looking rather serious.

"Okay," I said slowly, taking a seat across from them.

"Um okay… Where to start here…" Harry wondered aloud.

"Well it usually helps to start at the beginning genius," I offered sarcastically.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," he shot at me.

I smirked and shot back with, "You're welcome Sergeant Sarcasm."

Sirius smirked and Harry glared.

"Okay fine… let's see here… Kingsley called me to his office last night to warn me about at marriage law that is to be passed by the end of the month by the Wizengmont."

I was shocked. Shocked and completely in denial. As I processed the information, I realized exactly why they were telling me this. Even though I already knew, I asked anyway.

"What the hell does this have to do with me?" I feigned a sleepy yawn.

"Um… the law states that any unmarried, muggleborn witch or wizard must marry a pureblood to keep the wizarding race alive," Harry bluntly stated.

I sat there and quietly pondered what was going to happen. Most of the purebloods I knew were 1 of 3 places, dead, in Azkaban, or hated me. Then it hit me. Harry meant for me to marry Sirius, for my protection.

"I though it would be a good idea for you to marry Sirius. You know… so that we can make sure you stay safe, and happy. Also so that you can remain here," Harry offered up looking a bit sheepish.

My head shot up and I looked at Sirius pleadingly. Under my pleading gaze he shifted uncomfortably. Tears sprang to my eyes as he glared daggers at Harry. Harry on the other hand just shrugged it off as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was quite obvious that Sirius didn't want to be tied down.

"Harry," I interjected, "I really, highly, doubt Sirius would want to marry me."

"Hermione," Sirius said with the utmost formality, "I'd be honored as any guy to marry you. The only reason I wouldn't want to marry you is because you are almost always negative about random situations. When you aren't so upset, you are quite honestly a great joy to be around. But," here he paused and reached into his pocket," I will ask nicely."

Harry and I sat stone still, gaping at Sirius in the rather tangible silence. He stood and walked around the table to me. Slowly he knelt down and just as carefully, as though I was a fragile, porcelain doll, he took my hand.

"Hermione," he paused looking for the exact right words. He apparently found them as he had continued to speak, "I know that we might never love each other very deeply, but will you consider marrying me, even if it is only to keep you safe?"

I suddenly became extremely tense and just stared, open-mouthed at him. Was this the same Sirius, that still treated me as if I was a fragile child? The same Sirius, who had told me that he never intended to marry unless he found the right person because his freedoms would become more limited? The man who was constantly teasing me? No, it couldn't be.

"Um Hermione?" He was waving his hand in front of my face. "Love, close your mouth." I shot him a questioning look, to which he shrugged and said, "What? The fish look was unbecoming, even on your beautiful face."

Ah there it is. The teasing, joking Sirius I harbored a huge crush on. The Sirius I knew, and have to admit love. I couldn't help the grin that spread easily across my face. Then the thought hit me again and I glared.

"I-I-I… What about your freedoms?" I shot venomously.

He shrank back a bit and shrugged. "I figure as long as I'm saving someone's life and/or sanity, it won't matter anymore."

"Hermione," Harry interjected , "I've already made him promise not to hurt you. I just want you to stay safe. And I figured if I told you before the law is passed in a month, we could save you."

I turned my stony gaze form Sirius to Harry. There was something they just weren't telling me. I considered asking but decided it was best not to know quite yet. So I decided to answer Sirius. Sighing in mock defeat, I looked back at him.

"Sirius, I will marry you," I dead-panned, staring at him blankly.

He gave me a sheepish grin, then slipped an elegant diamond ring on my finger. I sincerely hope, for his sake, that he didn't spend to much on it.

A/N: OMIJEEZ! That was… eventful. *grins* Oh well. You know what you should do? You should click that little button down there that says review. If you do it… I'll give you a virtual ice cream of any flavor you want. *puppy dog eyes* SOOOO REVIEW! And remember: Don't forget to wear sunscreen on the moon! OHHHHHH AND! I will be able to post more now because School is out for the summer. xD I love you all.


End file.
